Just because I am bipolar it does not mean I am any less of a person

2 August, 2012

There is a stigma associated with bipolar and when people hear that I have it they treat me differently and try to distance themselves from me. Bipolar is not contagious and as long as I medicate and use my coping methods I’m not a person who has to be committed to a mental hospital against my will. Bipolar just means I have difficulty controlling my moods and sometimes have difficulty doing daily tasks others may take for granted.

Bipolar is not a curse or something to cry about. In some ways this mental illness is fact a blessing. It sucks when I’m in a down period but when I’m up I have tons of creativity, hundreds of great ideas and have so much charisma I become the center of attention. 1 in 4 people are said to suffer from sort of mental illness and in the last 5 years the stigma of bipolar disorder is starting to decline because more people are willing to put themselves out there and talk about their illness.

So next time you look down on someone with a mental disorder I want you to think about this. Mental illness is a disease. Would you look down on a cancer victim? Probably not unless you’re a complete jerk. My goal is to start blogging more about my struggles and my disease in order to attempt to erase the sigma of mental illness.